Melba Support Services moves HR, compliance and workforce planning onto Workday
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Victorian disability support provider Melba Support Services has deployed Workday Human Capital Management (HCM) to consolidate its core operations, strengthen compliance, and scale workforce planning after a period of rapid growth, according to an announcement from Workday.
In a statement, Workday outlined that Melba has expanded by 500 per cent, following the transfer of publicly operated disability homes to the not-for-profit sector. The organisation now manages 1,500 employees across 100 Supported Independent Living homes, respite centres, and community programs in Victoria.
The growth left Melba with complex operational challenges, according to the provider. To replace fragmented legacy systems and manual processes, Melba selected Workday HCM as its unified enterprise platform for workforce data, compliance, learning, and talent management.
Workday said the deployment has consolidated disparate legal entities and legacy systems into a single source of truth. Leaders and frontline managers now have real-time visibility into workforce metrics, learning requirements, and compliance standings. Workday said this enables faster decision making and continuous audit readiness in a highly regulated sector.
Bridget Thakrar, chief employee experience officer at Melba Support Services, said the change has given managers far greater access to information.
“Managers now can self-serve so much more than they could before,” Thakrar said. “A lot of this data either didn’t exist previously, or it was simply too hard to access. Support workers and outcomes managers are so focused on providing great support to our clients, and Workday has been an amazing enabler for that, taking the administrative burden off their plate so they can focus on what matters most.”
Benefits reported since deployment
Workday listed four operational benefits Melba has achieved since going live:
- Engagement and retention: Melba has tracked a significant increase in employee engagement, as measured through Workday Peakon Employee Voice. The announcement did not provide figures.
- Compliance visibility: Automated, real-time tracking of expiring certifications and training requirements has replaced manual compliance-chasing, providing continuous audit readiness.
- Talent insights: Melba has used Workday People Analytics to identify regional workforce trends, such as casual turnover rates, and to refine strategic workforce planning across its service areas.
- Organisational planning: Static, manual organisation charts have been replaced with a live, self-updating chart covering the entire 1,500-person organisation.
Thakrar said the improved visibility has changed how the organisation responds to shifts in its services.
“With just a couple of clicks, we can now see exactly where our compliance and learning risks sit,” she said. “That means we can make faster, better-informed decisions about where to move people if a service closes or a new area opens up, and do far more strategic workforce planning to support those decisions. When I talk to people about why we chose Workday, it always comes back to values alignment and partnership.”
Jo-Anne Ruhl, vice president and managing director of Workday Australia and New Zealand, said Melba’s experience was consistent with what the vendor hears from other customers in the not-for-profit and healthcare sectors.
“Melba’s story reflects what we hear from many of our not-for-profit and healthcare customers: the ability to unify HR and compliance on a single platform doesn’t just save time, it fundamentally changes how leaders operate day to day,” Ruhl said.
“We’re proud to support Melba as they continue to grow and deliver on their mission.”
RELATED TERMS
Compliance often refers to a company's and its workers' adherence to corporate rules, laws, and codes of conduct.
The term "workforce" or "labour force" refers to the group of people who are either employed or unemployed.
Assessing the business's present and future demands to ensure there is an adequate supply of competent workers and leadership talent is the definition of workforce planning.
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